After managing to easily get access to board a ship of Divinci, I had a week to myself, which I spent mostly doing nothing, mainly just relaxing; it wasn't that fun by myself, but I had a feeling I wouldn't have the chance once I got to the Daemon Continent.
Currently, I am sitting on the shore, concentrating on a rock in my hand, which I keep constantly poking. 'Um, has Master gone crazy, sister?' '... Perhaps.' 'Aww, but I liked Master.' 'It's unfortunate, but given our Master, it was inevitable.'
"Can you two be quiet?" Pausing my actions, I glanced at the sky in annoyance, wanting to focus, though of course, they didn't stop. 'Now Master is speaking to the sky; we're not in the sky, Master!' 'It seems he's crazier than I thought.' Hearing Zartha and Trina continue with the joke, I clicked my tongue before summoning them both from my body.
"How's this for a joke?" Standing up, I used [Strength Augment] and [Lightning Cloak] to throw my two greatswords far into the ocean, though they disappeared beyond the horizon before they entered it. "Haa, finally, some peace and quiet." Sighing in relief, I sat back down, grabbed the stone, which I enveloped with my space mana, before continuing to poke it.
However, even after hours of constant practice, I didn't succeed, though I wasn't upset, as I knew it wouldn't be easy; rising to my feet, I tossed the stone out into the ocean before turning around, returning to the city before the sun fully set.
'The captain I spoke to a week ago said they usually set sail shortly after dawn, so I got to wake up early tomorrow.' Yawning while stretching, I walked through the street, heading to my Inn; however, when I arrived, I spotted a familiar face.
"S-Sir Alexander? What a surprise, what are you doing here?" Noticing me, Daisy, who had been sitting at a table, stood up and outstretched her hand, which I shook. "I've been using this Inn for the past week. What are you doing here?" Raising an eyebrow at her, Daisy lightly chuckles, only for two similar, human young men, probably brothers, to arrive on either side of her.
"We've got a room booked, Dear." "Whenever you finish eating, let's retire." Kissing Daisy's cheeks, the two of them shifted their gaze to me, instantly becoming hostile. "Who is this man?" "Is he bothering you, dear?" Meeting their hostile gaze, I noticed their eyes were unnaturally hazy, causing me to give Daisy a deadpan expression.
"N-No, nothing like that. H-He's just someone I met some days ago." As she quickly pacified the two, I folded my arms and shook my head. "They're adults, right?" "Um, h-how old are you guys?" Nervously gulping, Daisy looked between the brothers. "17. We're both 17." "S-See, they're adults."
Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I slicked my hair back afterwards. "Try not to steal their money, they're young." "O-Okay." "Anyway, goodnight." Dismissively waving my hand, I walked away, heading to the top floor before entering my room and plopping on the bed.
'I miss my wives even more now.' Removing my armor, I entered the covers and fell asleep, doing so with an erection.
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Even before the sun rose, I donned my armor and exited my room, taking the stairs down to the lobby; as I did so, I happened to hear Daisy and her victims enjoying themselves. 'Can they even be considered victims?' Tapping my chin with a thoughtful expression, I continued down the stairs, leaving the sound of moans, grunts, and flesh slapping behind.
Arriving at the lobby, I handed the key back to the Orc before leaving, heading to the docks, which were busier than usual with sailors running back and forth. "Guess only one ship isn't going. Speaking of the ship, which one am I supposed to board?"
Standing at the beginning of the dock, looking between the various ships, I used [Heroes Gaze], seeing through everything, allowing me to spot the Captain on a far-right ship. Walking to the right, I arrived at the boat and leapt onto the deck, which was bustling with sailors.
Though as I headed to the Captain's quarters, what I could only assume were Adventurers called out to me. "Oi, dude with the white hair, who are you?" Glancing at the Orc, who was sitting alongside other adventurers, I pointed at myself, causing him to nod. "Who else got hair, fool?" "Uh, I'm Alexander. Can I help you?" "Alexander, huh?"
Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a journal, reading its contents before glaring at me. "You're not on the list, Alexander; so, care to tell me why you're trying to board this ship?" "Huh, I mean, I should be on the list; I don't know why I'm not." "Are you saying I got it wrong? I've been guarding ships for Divinci for nearly a decade, and not once have I made a mistake with personnel."
His voice deepened as he stood up, towering nearly a whole foot over me with an intense glare, causing me to furrow my brows. "I mean, there's a first time for everything, but by personnel, do you mean those hired to guard this ship?" "What fucking else do I mean?" "Oh, no wonder I'm not on your list; I wasn't hired to guard this ship. I'm just tagging along; here, this would probably be more believable."
Snapping my fingers in realization, under the man's intense glare, I reached into my pocket, handing him my adventurer's license, causing his eyes to widen slightly. "A-An A-rank Adventurer!?" The others that had been silently watching from behind instantly reacted, surrounding the Orc with a look of disbelief.
"N-No way, an A-rank adventurer!?" "Whoa, they're so rare!" "Lies! Let me see!" "I-Incredible! A-rank Adventurers are truly different." Watching them get so excited and shocked by my license, I scratched my head, feeling a little embarrassed.
It must've been because Gulentina was pretty isolated; A-rank adventurers, while rare, weren't anything special in Cassandra. As long as you visited the guild once a day, you'd come across at least a few of them in a week. Now, rare were S-rank adventurers, excluding Marlin, Simba, and Lily, and that lady from the Church, Sash; I've only encountered three in Cassandra, which is little considering I've been there for over a decade.
"Um, c-could I have my license back please?" "O-Oh, y-yes, of course, Sir. I-I also apologize for my earlier behavior." As he handed me my license back, the Orc, with a mix of fear and respect, lightly bowed, causing me to wave my hand. "It's fine, just doing your job. Anyway, if you could excuse me."
Leaving them, I headed to the Captain's quarters, stopping mid-way, and turned around as I realized they could answer everything I wanted to know.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask. How long will travel take to Daemon?" To my question, an Ice-demon, suddenly, answered quicker than the Orc. "Three weeks is the norm, but it can fluctuate depending on the weather or if pirates attack us." Nodding at her response, I continued asking questions, with each person responding to a different one.
"What kind of weather is expected, if any?" This time, it was a demon with black skin, wings, and horns. "Thunderstorms, tsunamis, whirlpools, hurricanes, tornadoes, pretty much everything; however, in the path we take, they're unlikely to occur." Forcing a smile at the thought of possibly dealing with every terrible natural disaster, a mermaid answered my third question.
"What about pirates? Are there pirate groups, or just a bunch of rag-tag pirates?" "Both. However, the latter avoid merchant ships as they know adventurers are protecting them; save for the ambitious, they only target passenger ships." Nodding, I rubbed my chin, only to remember the last time I took a ship.
"This ship, it's been coated in Oceans Mimicry, right? The last ship I used, well, let's just say it wasn't." The last to respond was a Harpy, the same species as Talis, well, at least I think the same species. "Yep. It's a double layer to boot." "Haa, thank goodness." Wiping imaginary sweat from my head, I decided to sit with them while the sailors got the ship ready.
During that time, I got to know a little about them, such as their names: the Orc was Finley, the Ice demon was Kazer, the demon with wings and horns was Zula, the Mermaid was Paris, and the Harpy was Tite.
Eventually, after some time, when it looked like the sailors had finished everything, just after the sun had fully risen beyond the horizon, the Captain exited from the Captain's quarters, speaking with several of his men. Afterwards, he headed to the helm, manning it while shouting orders. "Raise the Anchor! Lower the Sails!" "Yes, Captain!"
As the crew followed his orders, working like a well-oiled machine, a gust of wind caught in the sails, slowly pushing the ship out of the docks. "Set sail! To Daemon!"
"Do they do this every time?" Glancing at Finley, he nodded.